Craigslist ad leads to online predator's capture

A Wasilla man was sentenced to 10 years in prison with five years suspended after being convicted of a single count of online enticement of a minor.

Dennis Armstrong, 38, was also ordered to serve five years of supervised felony probation, as well as register as a sex offender for 15 years.

An undercover detective with the Anchorage Police Department's Cyber Crimes Unit, posing as a 13-year-old girl, responded to a Craigslist ad Armstrong had posted titled, "Daddy looking", back in May of 2016.

The Alaska Attorney General's Office says over the next two months, Armstrong, believing he was communicating with a minor, exchanged hundreds of emails expressing his desire to have sex with the minor, and ultimately led to a planned rendezvous at a hotel.

In July of 2016, Armstrong drove from Wasilla to Anchorage to meet the "13-year-old" near the Loussac Library. He was instead met by detectives.

During his interview with investigators, Armstrong admitted he intended to have sex with the minor and that he was excited by the fact she was a virgin. A package of condoms was recovered from Armstrong's truck.

“This is yet another example of how important pro-active investigations by the Cyber Crimes Unit of the Anchorage Police Department are to identifying and prosecuting online predators and keeping the children in our community safe," said Assistant Attorney General Thomas Aliberti, who prosecuted the case.